Byzantine repertoire resulting from the study of earrings discovered in Italian early Medieval Necropolis

The primary role attributed to precious objects emerges in a relevant way studying grave goods brought to light in Goths and Lombard Italian Early Medieval cemeteries. To date attention has been concentrated mainly on barbarian elements which characterised jewels and other precious items found in the tombs. Unfortunately this kind of research has shown several limits: it does not take into account the Byzantine element. To emphasize and evidence the cultural exchanges attested from the art of the migration period we will put emphasis on the study of a specific class of artefacts: earrings. This paper aims at showing, through the study of several pairs of luxury earrings discovered in different Italian funerary contexts, how elements of barbarian art blend with typological and stylistic features typical of the art of the East Mediterranean. An example which outlines the influence of Byzantine models in Lombard jewellery production is a pair of gold earrings with triangular pendant plate and gold and amethyst drops brought to light in the cemetery of Castel Trosino (grave S). If the shape of the jewels recall Gothic and barbaric models similar to the earrings discovered in the Domagnano Treasure, their fine creation had a more classical prototype as attested by the wide use of granulated wires. This example demonstrates a sort of inspiration given by Byzantine models which circulated throughout Medieval Europe. This way permitted neighbouring cultures to adopt fashions from the Byzantine repertoire.